Westhampton Beach High School holds inaugural Polar Bear Plunge

Unlike many of the participants at the Westhampton Beach High School Polar Bear Plunge on Saturday morning, Caity Decara had plunged before and was ready.

“When you run in it feels like you’re being stabbed with needles because it’s so cold,” said Decara, 15, a sophomore. “It’s so much fun.”

Decara was among two dozen from the Westhampton Beach community who jumped into the chilly water of Rogers Beach on Saturday.

The Westhampton Beach High School student government organized the polar plunge to raise money for Adopt-A-Family, a program through The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Westhampton Beach for needy families. Through fundraising events like this weekend’s polar plunge and donations from local businesses, students were able to raise more than $1,200, which will be used to buy holiday presents for two of the program’s families.

“The kids really put this whole thing together, soup to nuts,” said Westhampton Beach principal Chris Herr. “All the funds here go to an amazing cause.”

Saturday’s event, which was inspired by the annual Southampton Polar Plunge, helped the students raise more money for the holidays than ever before.

“Definitely since I’ve been here it’s been the most ambitious thing we’ve done,” said Brian Schwartz, 17, Westhampton Beach High School’s student council vice president. “We’re hoping this can be an annual thing.”

For student government co-advisers Dariah Juma and Nicole Taylor, the plunge was an exciting way to bring something new to the school’s yearly fundraising activities.

“We really just want to have enough money for the families,” said Taylor, a business teacher.

Added Juma, “This is a pretty interesting opportunity for students in our high school. They can cross this off their bucket list.”